Current-regulator for automobile light-circuits.



A WEHMEIER. CURRENT REGULATOR FOR AUTOMOBILE LIGHT CIRCUITS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I. I9I6.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

Inventor ALBERT IYEHMETER UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT WEI-IMEIER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO FORE ELECTRICAL MFG. (30., A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

CURRENT-REGULATOR FOR AUTOMOBILE LIGHT-CIRCUITS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

Application filed July 1, 1916. Serial No. 107,114.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I ALBERT WEHMEIER, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Current-Regulators for Automobile Light-Circuits, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates generally to an electric current regulator and more particularly to a regulating device in the form of an inductance coil which serves as an impedance to regulate the current flow in the magneto light circuits of automobiles, particularly of the Ford make.

The magneto lighting systems as now used upon certain makes of automobiles are defective in that no provision is made for maintaining the current out-put even or free of fluctuations due to various speeds of the generator, and consequently when the car is running slowly the lights in the circuit burn dim, due to the comparative slow speed of the generator and when the car is driven at high speed, the generator is correspondingly speeded up, with the result that the lights will burn with abnormal brilliancy and very frequently the lights burn out, due to the sudden and abnormal increase of current flow.

I propose to overcome the defects above noted by providing a comparatively simple inductance coil which acts as an impedance to regulate or control the current flow to the headlights, thereby causing the same to burn with uniform light at all car speeds.

Further objects of my invention are, to provide a current regulating device which can be readily connected in the lighting circuit of the automobile; to provide a device which will be very effective in use, and further to provide a coil which does not depend upon a housing or some extraneous object for a path for the induced currents developed in said coil, and further to provide a device which is very compact and which can be readily placed in position on the steering post or the dash-board of the vehicle.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a current regulating device of my improved construction.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the coil removed from its housing.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken through the center of the coil.

Fig. 5 is a cross section taken approximately on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Figs. 6 and 7 are plan views of the plates or laminations which make up the core of the coil.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of a lighting system in which my improved coil is located.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, 10 designates a box-shaped housing which serves as a container for the coil, the bottom of said housing being open and the end walls being provided with outwardly projecting perforated ears 11, whereby said housing can be readily attached to the steering post or dash of an automobile.

Formed in the top of the housing is an opening 12 through which pass the terminals of the coils forming a part of the dev1ce.

The core of my improved device is laminated or made up of a series of comparatively thin plates of iron, said plates being shaped as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. Approximately half of the core is made up of two sets of plates formed as illustrated in Fig. 6, each plate comprising a central leg or member 13 and a pair of side legs or members 14, the same being spaced apart from the center leg 13 and connected to one end thereof by webs 15. The other half of the core is made up of a single series of plates formed as illustrated in Fig. 7 and each plate comprises a central member 16 and side members 17, the latter lying parallel with said member 16, spaced apart therefrom, and connecting the central portions of said members 16 and 17 are webs 18.

In making up the complete core, two sets of the plates comprising the members 13 and 1 are arranged illust ated i ms ith the ends of the portions 13 and 14: spaced a slight distance apart and a series of the plates comprising the members 16 and 17 are laid directly on top of the two sets of first mentioned plates, after which two coils of wire 19 covered with insulation are wound upon the members 13 and 16 between the web members 15 and 18, and thus the two sets of members 13 and the single set of center members 16 become the core of the-device when the side members 14: and 17 constitute paths for the induced currents set up during the passage of the generated current through the coils 1901 the device.

Positioned between the series of members 14 and 17 on each side of the device is a comparatively thin section 20 of insulation, the same serving to form an air gap between the side members of the device, which side members comprise the sections-1 1 and 17, the width of this air gap necessarily being determined by the thickness of the sections of insulation.

The coil and core thus constructed are positioned in the housing 10 and the space around said core and coil is filled with cement, wax or other self-hardening material, and thus when the device is complete and ready for use, the coil is entirely embedded in said cement or wax, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The terminals of the coils 19 lead out through the opening 12 and the two terminals 21 from theadjacent inner ends of the coils are connected to each otherand to a conductor 22 which leads to one side of the magneto generator 23, the other side of said generator being grounded as illustrated in Fig. 8.

A-suitable switch 24- is located in the line 22, and is for the purposeof opening or closing the circuit to the regulating coil.

Thev terminals 25 from the outer ends of the coils 19 are connected to conductors 26 which lead to the lamps 27 of the lighting system, said lamps on the other side being 7 suitably, grounded.

.It-will be understood that inthe magneto circuits forautomobiles, the current flowing to said .lamp'isvariablezto a considerable extent due to the variation in engine speed @and which speed is transmitted to the gencoil is in series with its lamp and the coils are. in parallel with the result. that-when the device is muse, each lamp will receive a comparatively steady flow of current,.re-

gardless of whether or not the other lamp burns out.

Theflow of current from the generator in passing through the coils 19 has the effect of inducing currents through the core of said coils, and said induced currents have the effect of regulating or controlling the flow of generated current with the result that the flow of current from the device to the lamps is even or uniform and consequently, said lamps will burn evenly and not be affected by a variation of the engine speed.

A regulating device of my improved construction is comparatively simple, can be easily and cheaply manufactured and installed, is very effective in use, occupies but comparatively little space on the automobile dash-board or steering post, and: by controlling and regulating the flow of current to the lamps, causes the same to burn evenly regardless of the speed of the engine and the generator.

It will be readily understood that minor changes in the size,'form and construction of the various parts of my improved regulating device can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described, without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forthwin the appended claims.

I- claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a laminated core made up of two sets of plates, each comprising a center member and a 100 pair of side members, said center and side members being connected at one end, a third set of plates. positioned on top of the first mentioned sets of plates, each of which third set of plates comprises acenter member, and 105 a pair of side members, said side members being centrally connected, and coils comprising separate windingslocated on the central members of the core plates.

2. In a device of the class described, a 110 laminated core made up of two sets of plates, each comprising a center member and a pair of side members, said center and side members being connected at one end, a third set of plates positioned on: top of' the first 115 mentioned sets of plates, each of which third set of plates comprises a center member and a. pair of side members, said side members being centrally connected, and coils comprising-separate windings located on the. 120 central members of the core plates, and the side members of the first mentioned sets of coreplates being spaced'apart from-said members of the separate set of core plates to form air gaps.

3. -In a device of the class described, a pair ofcoils and a core therefor, said core comprising two sets of laminated plates, said sets being spaced apart between the coils, and a third set of laminated plates lying in 180 the same plane with the two sets of plates and extending across the space between the ends thereof.

4. A device of the class described comprising a pair of coils, a laminated core therefor, said core comprising three sets of plates, tWo sets of which form one half of the core, said two sets being spaced apart, and each plate comprising a central member and a pair of side members, said side and end members being united at one end and the third set of plates comprising a central member and a pair of side members, which central and side members are centrally connected.

5. A device of the class described comprising a pair of coils, a laminated core therefor, said core comprising three sets of plates, tWo sets of which form one half of the core, said two sets being spaced apart, and each plate comprising a central member and a pair of side membes, said side and end members being united at one end and the third set of plates comprising a central member and a pair of side members, which central and side members are centrally connected, and the side members of the third set of plates being spaced apart from the side members of the two sets of plates to form air gaps between said side members.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afliX my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 27th day of June, 1916.

ALBERT VEHMEIER.

\Vitnesses M. P. SMITH, M. A. HANDEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

